Many articles that are offered for sale, particularly hardware articles, including some picture hangers, have plural interfitting parts when assembled. The interfitting parts are frequently presented to a prospective purchaser in a point-of-sale device on a backing and presented to a prospective purchaser through a transparent cover, such as a so-called “blister pack.” The interfitting parts are in a disassembled condition. As a result, many persons find assembling the interfitting parts to be a daunting experience.
A commercially available picture hanger, illustrated in FIG. 1 in its point-of-sale configuration, is known as the NO-STUD. The NO-STUD picture hanger includes a plate 10 with a rectangular opening 12, as well as nail openings 14. Picture hanger structure 16 has a shoulder 18 that extends through opening 12 in plate 10 when the NO-STUD hanger is assembled. Hanger structure 16 includes leg 22 that (1) carries hook 24 and (2) downwardly depends from shoulder 18. Hanger structure 16 also includes arm 20 that upwardly extends from shoulder 18 when plate 10 is mounted on a wall. During a mounting operation, opening 12 in plate 10 is aligned with an opening in the wall and arm 20 engages the side of the wall opposite from the side of the wall against which plate 10 bears.
The picture hanger of FIG. 1 has been marketed by mounting plate 10, hanger structure 16, and nails 28 in transparent blister pack 26. Blister pack 26, plate 10, hanger structure 16, and nails 28 are carried by panel 30 that includes an illustration 32 of the assembled picture hanger. Panel 30 includes elongated, horizontally-extending opening 34, which is fitted onto an elongated element of a point-of-sale system, typically including a pegboard from which the elongated element extends.
Presentation of the product on the point-of-sale device of FIG. 1 is not particularly attractive. Further, many prospective purchasers have difficulty determining how to insert hanger structure 16 into opening 12 of plate 10 based on illustration 32 and written information on backing 30.
To assemble the picture hanger of FIG. 1, plate 10 is fastened to a wall by hammering nails 28 through openings 14 into a wall having a hole aligned with opening 12 in the plate. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, hanger structure 16 is inserted through opening 12 in plate 10 and the hole in the wall so that shoulder 18 extends substantially at right angles to the faces of the wall, and leg 22 and arm 20 are respectively located in front and in back of the wall.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved point-of-sale device having plural interfitting parts when assembled.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved point-of-sale device having plural interfitting parts, wherein the article is presented to a prospective purchaser in an aesthetically pleasing manner to enhance sales.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved point-of-sale device wherein plural interfitting parts of an article are presented to a prospective purchaser in a manner that enables the prospective purchaser to easily determine how the interfitting parts are assembled and connected together in use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved point-of-sale device for a picture hanger including a plate with an opening and a hanger structure having a shoulder structure that extends through the opening in the plate when the picture hanger is mounted on a wall, wherein the hanger structure includes a leg downwardly depending from the shoulder.